The Knights of the Cross/Volume 2/Chapter 75

by Henryk Sienkiewicz

LXXV.

Matsko had lived to happy years in his life. He declared to his neighbors repeatedly that he had received more than he himself had hoped for. Even old age had only whitened the hair on his head and in his beard; it had not taken from him health or strength. His heart was full of such great joyfulness as up to that time he had never experienced. His face, formerly severe, had become more and more kindly, and his eyes smiled at people with a friendly expression. In his soul he had the conviction that all evil had ended forever, that no care, no misfortune would dim the days of his life now flowing onward as quietly as a clear river. To war till old age, to manage in old age and increase wealth for his "grandchildren,"—that at all times had been the highest wish of his heart; and now all this had come to pass perfectly. Land management went just as he desired. The forests had been felled in considerable part, the stumps rooted out, and the new land was green every spring with a fleece of various kinds of grain; herds increased, in the fields were forty mares with colts, which the old noble inspected daily. Flocks of sheep and herds of cattle pastured in groves and on fallow lands. Bogdanets had changed thoroughly; from a deserted settlement it had become a populous, a wealthy place, and the eyes of him who approached it from Zgorzelitse by the forest highway were dazzled by the watchtower seen from afar, and the walls of the castle still unblackened and glittering with gold in the sun and the purple evening twilight.

So old Matsko was rejoiced in heart by cattle, by management, by his fortunate fate, and he did not contradict when people said that he had a lucky hand.

A year after the twins there came to the world another boy, whom Yagenka called Zyh in honor of her father.

Matsko received the new visitor with delight and was not troubled in the least by this, that were it to go farther in such wise the property accumulated with so much effort and toil would have to be divided. "For what had we?" asked he, speaking of this once to Zbyshko. "Nothing! still God prospered us. Old Pakosh of Sulislavitse has one village and twenty-two sons, but they are not dying of hunger. Are the lands in the kingdom and Lithuania small in extent? Are the villages and castles in the hands of the dog brother Knights few in number? Hei! well, since the Lord Jesus has favored us so much, there will be a proper place (for them) since there are castles there, all of red brick, of which our gracious king may make places for castellans." And it was a thing worthy of note that though the Order had risen then, as it were, to the summit of its greatness, because in wealth, power, and the number of trained troops it surpassed all Western kingdoms, still this old knight thought of the castles of the Order as future residences for his grandsons; and surely many in Yagello's kingdom had a like thought, not merely because those were old Polish lands on which the Order had settled, but because a feeling of mighty power was storming in the nation, and seeking an outlet on every side.

Only in the fourth year, counting from Zbyshko's marriage, was the castle finished, and even then with the assistance not only of local laborers and men from Zgorzelitse and Mochydoly, but also from the region about, especially from old Vilk of Brozova, who, left alone in the world after the death of his son, had become very friendly to Matsko, and afterward turned his heart toward Zbyshko and Yagenka.

Matsko adorned the chambers of the castle with booty which either he and Zbyshko had taken in war, or which had been inherited from Yurand of Spyhov; added to these were effects left by the abbot and others which Yagenka had brought from her own home. He put in glass windows from Sieradz, and arranged a magnificent residence.

Zbyshko with his wife and children moved into the castle only on the fifth year, when the other buildings, such as stables, cowhouses, kitchens, and baths were finished, and also cellars, which old Matsko had made of stone and limemortar, so that they should have endless durability. But he did not move into the castle himself; he preferred to remain in the old bent house, and to every prayer of Zbyshko and Yagenka he answered in the negative, expressing his mind in the following manner,—

"I will die here where I was born. You see, during the time of the war of the Grymaliti and Nalentchi Bogdanets was burned to the ground, all the cottages, yes, even the fences, but this old house remained. People said that it did not burn because of the abundance of moss on the roof, but I think that the favor of God and His will were in this occurrence, so that we should return here and increase again out of the old house. During the time of our campaigning I complained more than once that we had nothing to which we might return, but not altogether justly did I say that. By my faith, there was nothing to keep house herewith, and as to putting something into one's mouth—but there was a place in which to take refuge. Well, for the young people it is quite different, but I think this, since that old house has not left us, it is not proper for me to leave it."

And he remained. But he liked to visit the castle, so as to look at its grandeur and greatness in comparison with the old dwelling, and at the same time to look at Zbyshko and Yagenka, and at his "grandsons." All that he saw was in considerable part his own work; but it filled him with pride, and admiration. Sometimes old Vilk visited him to "chat" at the fireside, or he visited Vilk in Brozova for the same purpose. So once he explained to him his ideas touching "the new order."

"You know," said he, "it is strange to me sometimes. Though in truth Zbyshko, even in Cracow, was at the king's castle—why! they came near cutting his head off there!—and in Mazovia, and at Malborg, and with Prince Yanush. Yagenka was reared also in wealth, but they had not their own castle. Now, however, it is as if they had never lived in another way. They walk, I tell you, they walk in the chambers, walk,—and give commands to the servants, and when they are tired they sit down. A real castellan and his lady! They have also a chamber in which they dine with mayors, managers, and dependants, and in it there are higher seats for him and for her; others have lower seats and they wait till the master and mistress have been served properly. That is court usage, but I am to remember that they are not some great lords, but a nephew and a nephew's wife, who take me, their old pet, and seat me in the first place, and call me benefactor."

"For that reason the Lord Jesus blesses them," remarked old Vilk.

Then, nodding his head in sadness, he drank a little mead, stirred brands in the fire with an iron poker, and said,—

"But my boy is dead!"

"God's will."

"Well! His older brothers, of whom there were five, laid down their lives long ago. But you know that. The will of God, of course. But this last boy was the best of them all. A real Vilk; and if he had not fallen he too would be living now in his own castle."

"Better that Stan had fallen."

"What is Stan? He is as if carrying millstones on his shoulders. But how many times did my boy cut him up. My son had knightly training, while Stan's wife now raps him on the face, for, though he is a strong fellow, he is stupid."

"Hei! he is as dull as a horse's rump!" added Matsko. And when there was an occasion he exalted to the skies not only Zbyshko's knightly training, but also his wit, saying that in Malborg he had met the foremost knights within barriers, "and that for him to converse with princes was the same as to crack nuts." He praised also his nephew's wisdom and skill in management, without which he would soon consume the castle and the property.

Not wishing, however, that old Vilk should suppose that anything similar could threaten Zbyshko, he finished in a lowered voice,—

"Well, with the favor of God there is rich property enough—more than people think; but do not repeat this to any one."

People divined, they knew and told one another to exaggeration, especially of the wealth which the lord and lady of Bogdanets had removed from Spyhov. It was said that they had brought money in salt kegs from Mazovia. Matsko had accommodated with a loan of between ten and twenty gryvens the wealthy heirs of Konietspole, and this confirmed the belief of the neighborhood absolutely in his "treasures." For that reason the significance of the lords of Bogdanets increased, the respect of people rose, and there was never a lack of guests at the castle; which fact Matsko, though sparing, did not consider with an unwilling eye, for he knew that that too added to the fame of the family.

More especially splendid were the christenings, and once a year, after the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, Zbyshko gave a great feast to the neighborhood, at which noble women were present to look at knightly exercises, hear stories, and dance with young knights by the light of pitch torches till morning. Then old Matsko rejoiced his eyes and delighted his heart in gazing at Zbyshko and Yagenka, they looked so dignified and lordly. Zbyshko had become more manful in appearance; he had grown, and though with his powerful and tall figure his face seemed always too young, still when he fastened his abundant hair with a purple band, arrayed himself in splendid garments embroidered with silver and gold threads, not only Matsko, but many a noble said to himself in soul: "God be merciful! He is really a prince sitting in his own castle." But often knights who knew western customs knelt before Yagenka, and begged her to be the lady of their thoughts. She was radiant with such splendor of health, strength, and beauty. The old master of Konietspole, who had been voevoda of Sieradz, was astonished at sight of her, and compared her to the morning dawn, and also to the "dear sun," which gives brightness to the world, and puts enlivening heat even into old bones.